Monday, May 8, 2023

CBSE GRADE XI, ENGLISH CORE, A PORTRAIT OF A LADY.

 

 


CBSE GRADE XI ENGLISH CORE

HORNBILL, LESSON 1. THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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1. How was Khushwnt Singh's grandfather seen in the extract?
Ans: Khushwant Singh' grandfather seemed to be very old. He had a long white beard that covered the best part of his chest. His clothes were loose fitting and he  wore a big turban. He looked too old to have a wife or children. He looked at least a hundred years old. He could have many grandchildren.

2. The narrator’s grandmother could never have been pretty, but she was always beautiful’. Explain.
Ans: She was too old to be pretty. She had criss-cross of wrinkles from everywhere to everywhere. She was short, fat and slightly bent. Her physical appearance didn’t create any attraction. However, in her spotless white dress and silver lock she seemed to be a picture of serenity and beautiful.

3. The narrator’s grandmother looked like the ‘winter landscape in the mountains’. Explain
Ans: The grandmother was always dressed in spotless white sari and blouse. She had silver locks that spread untidily over her pale and wrinkled face. She seemed to be an expanse of pure white serenity. An expanse of white snow over the mountains looks equally white and peaceful. So her silvery locks and white dress made her look like the winter landscape in the mountains.


4. Describe how the grandmother spent her time while the narrator was in the village school.
Ans: The grandmother would accompany the narrator to the school on all days. The school was attached to a temple. The narrator would learn alphabet and morning prayer at school, meanwhile the grandmother would sit inside the temple and read scriptures. In this way she spent her time till the school was over.

 5. How can you prove that the grandmother has been portrayed as a very religious lady?

Ans: She sat in the temple and read scriptures when the narrator was in the school. At home she always mumbled an inaudible prayer and kept telling the beads of rosary. She would repeat prayers in a sing-song manner while getting the narrator ready for school. All these indicates that she was a religious lady.


6. “That was a turning point in our friendship.” What was the turning point?
Ans: The narrator's father asked the grandmother and the narrator to shift to their city house. Then the narrator joined  to an English school and  went by its bus. Grandmother could no longer accompany him to school. Although they shared the same room, they saw less of each other. That was the turning point in their friendship.


7. Describe briefly the happiest moment of grandmother that she spent with the sparrows.
Ans: The grandmother enjoyed feeing the sparrows. usually fed them in the afternoon. She would sit  in the verandah and break bread into small bits. Hundreds of sparrows would gather there and they would chirrup happily. Some would  perch on her lap and some others on shoulders and even her head. She never shooed them away. It was her happiest half an hour.


8. Why didn’t the grandmother pray in the evening on the day narrator came back home?
Ans: The grandmother was overjoyed when the narrator came back from abroad. A strange change took place in her  behaviour. She was over-excited. She celebrated the arrival of her grandson by collecting all the women of her  neighborhood. For hours she continued singing and beating the drum. At last the narrator had to persuade her to stop overstraining. It might be the first time that she forgot to pray.

LONG ANSWER

1. Describe the friendship ‘between Khushwant Singh and his grandmother.
Ans: Khushwant Singh's best friend was his grandmother when he was in their village house. During those days his parents were in a city where his father was workig.Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was a religious lady who closely involved in bringing him up. She was pious and holy woman.

 When the author lived with her in the village house,  she used to wake him up early in the morning. While bathing and dressing him, she sang a monotonous sing song  prayer, thinking that the young boy would learn it by heart by listening it daily.

She then would give him breakfast. Almost all days it would be some stale chapatti with butter and sugar. Then they would go together to school which was attached to a temple. The priest was his teacher.

While the author learnt his lesson sitting in school veranda,  the grandmother would sit in the temple and read holy scriptures. They would return home together. But a turning point happened in their friendship when his parents called them back to their city house. Although they shared a single room there, she could not help him much because he was in an English school. She couldn't help him in his studies because he was an English school.

She was very sad because there had no lessons on moral science, God and scriptures. She hated music, Science and Western education. According to her music is for harlots and beggars. She liked moral Science and holy books. The common link of their friendship was gradually broken.

Meanings of the phrases given in the text

the thought was almost revolting: It was disgusting to think so.

an expanse of pure white serenity: widespread clear and calm whiteness.

a turning point: the time when an important change takes place.

accepted her seclusion with resignation: calmly submitted to her loneliness.

a veritable bedlam of chirruping: real confusing noise caused by chirping.

frivolous rebukes: light rebukes

the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum: the loose skin of an old drum.

 

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3 Comments:

At May 9, 2023 at 6:35 AM , Blogger Uploader(Blogger) said...

Nice

 
At May 9, 2023 at 8:32 AM , Blogger Unknown king said...

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At May 9, 2023 at 8:32 AM , Blogger Unknown king said...

Nice

 

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